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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. mark — a grade
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — money
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — a city
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pitch — completely
  18. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com